about

The desire to travel is universal. We all have a need, now and
then, to get away from it all. Inevitably, this leads to the
question 'Where should I go?' and, just as importantly, 'Where
should I stay?'In a world of ever-expanding options - particularly
in the context of accessibility and affordability - the choice is
bewildering. Thus even the most travelled among us can benefit from
a source that offers travel and accommodation ideas on a global
scale, and that spares us the nightmare of any nasty surprises.

In every corner of the globe there are Highly Individual Places
to stay. Some are big, some are small, some expensive, some not:
the thing they have in common is that these are the hotels that
help make travel memorable - the places that provide stories for
many a dinner party to come. Not only can they generate travel
experiences to be treasured but they are also destinations in their
own right.

HIP Hotels is an atlas of global opportunities; a worldwide
guide to the kind of hotels we all want to find, if only we knew
where to look. Unusual, unique, interesting, out of the way, and
almost always charming, the places that HIP Hotels feature make
travel what it should be, namely exciting and rewarding.

The diversity on offer is spellbinding. From a restored
seventeenth-century mud kasbah built on the old African slave route
in the Sahara, to a collection of open-plan contemporary timber
bungalows set amongst the boulders of a hidden beach in Vietnam, to
a Frank Lloyd Wright cabin on a North American pond in the woods of
Wisconsin, HIP Hotels lets you experience the kinds of places once
found only on the pages of James Bond novels.

The temples of Luang Prabang, the shores of Sri Lanka, the wilds
of Tasmania, the ruins of Angkor Wat, the turquoise treasures of
the Bahamas, the colourful 'pueblo' traditions of Mexico, the
magnificence of India's Raj, the peasant charm of Provence, the Zen
of old Japan, the mystery of ancient Egypt, the breathtaking beauty
of Italy's Renaissance.... All of these need not merely be admired;
they can now be experienced. Name a travel fantasy and HIP Hotels
will not only place you smack bang in the middle of it, but you'll
also be able to spend the night. You, the traveller, become
integrated into your surroundings. It's a new kind of tourism that
involves 'being', as opposed to merely seeing.

HIP Hotels provides a unique global perspective on precisely the
sorts of places that make you want to pack your bags and
escape.